Albany, NY – Men's soccer player, junior TJ Zehner (Beacon, NY/Beacon) recently completed his first season as a member of the NJ LUSO Parma PDL team. He is the first Sage men's soccer player to compete in the United Soccer League's Premier Development League. In his first season, Zehner earned six starts in goal, gaining valuable experience at a very competitive level of play.
The 2014 season marks the 20th year of the PDL. The regular-season began the first weekend in May and is followed by a postseason tournament of conference winners to determine the league's champion. Seven teams were added to the league, bringing the total number of teams in the league to 70 for 2014.
Zehner, who was named a team captain this past spring, will be heading into his junior year for the Gators. He is coming off an injury shortened 2013 season that saw the team finish as the Skyline Conference regular-season champions, while collecting the squad's third straight ECAC Tournament appearance. He went 2-1-2 in seven matches played and started and capped the campaign with a 0.857 saves percentage and a 0.63 goals against average with three shutouts.
In his first season with the Gators he earned numerous awards, including a selection to the 2012 Skyline Conference All-Star Second Team. He was also named the Skyline Conference Rookie of the Week twice and was named to the Skyline Weekly Honor Roll five times in 2012. He capped the season with a 12-4-1 record in goal and boasted a 0.78 GAA after playing in 18 games with seven shutouts. At season's end, he was named the team's Gator award winner as Most Valuable Player.
A physical education major at Sage, Zehner also excels in the classroom, making the Deans' List in both the fall and spring semesters this past year, while also excelling as a Sage Scholar-Athlete honoree. He plans on pursuing a career as a physical education teacher following his graduate from Sage. He is the son of Steven Zehner and Alison Chesnick.
The Gators will open the 2014 season on August 29 travelling to Utica College for a non-conference match-up at 7 p.m. Sage's home opener is on September 2, when Bard College visits at 7 p.m. The 2014 campaign marks the fifth season for men's soccer at Sage and the team is under the direction of Kyle Clancy.
